1965 Chevrolet Impala |
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In March 2008, Jim sold this car to an Impala enthusiast in Tennessee.
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1965 Chevrolet Impala SS. As found by Jim in September 2005. The car has been sitting in a garage for 22 years. 91,000 actual miles. (146,500 km) There is a PURDUE University parking permit sticker in the windshield. Dated 1976-77. Factory air conditioning, automatic transmission on the floor with bucket seats and console. Power steering, power brakes. 327 "HC" 250 horsepower. Camel back heads, factory Rochester four barrel carburetor. |
Typical Indiana rust on the rear deck lid. Even though Jim was once a "Hot Rod" enthusiast, he now prefers cars that have never been in the hands of an owner who had extensively modified the vehicle. Hot rods are fine for those persons so inclined. click photo to enlarge |
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The car was originally white with a white and turquoise interior. Many years ago, the one repaint was a color change to blue. The interior is a little dirty, but complete and in good condition. Jim prefers the showroom stock collector cars. Representing the automobile as it was when new. Finding a never modified unit with all the original pieces is the ultimate goal for a person who wants a "bone stock" restoration project. This one has never been in any serious accidents, the front "doghouse" is square, and overall the whole car is pretty straight.... Most SuperSports were subjected to abuses and modifications over the years.. click photo to enlarge
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This car is from the New Richmond Indiana area. This is the small town made famous in the 1986 basketball Movie "Hoosiers" starring Gene Hackman. In the film, this small central Indiana town was called "Hickory". click photo to enlarge |
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Jim is happy the console is complete and intact. This car has never been "hacked" by anyone! click photo to enlarge |
Jim found the correct radio on ebay click photo to enlarge |
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Some rust in the rear quarter panels, but not bad
for an Indiana car. Of course they will be replaced during the restoration, but the inner structures are very solid on this car. All four SS hubcaps are in good condition, and Jim's parts car has four more! The rust
around the rear window appears to be minor. There are a few perforations
visible. |
A very solid floor. After removing the carpet, Jim
is pleasantly surprised to find another car with good "pans". |
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Rear view of the solid floor in this car. |
Even after 22 years of sitting, Jim and John get the engine running with little effort. The previous owner drained the radiator when the car went into storage. After adding water, a battery, new valve cover gaskets, rebuild kit in the carburetor, correcting a couple of wiring problems relating to mouse damage, attaching a fuel line directly to the carburetor, the 327 V8 engine runs great. Under the hood, the car is 99% intact and correct. The engine build date was on Jim's birthday in 1965! click photo to enlarge |
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The factory air conditioning is complete and intact. The compressor turns over, and seems to be OK. Of course this car will undergo a complete restoration, but the fact that it is original and complete will require less searching for the often hard to find items. click photo to enlarge |
January 8th 2006: Jim was surprised to find that the brake system had been rebuilt just before the car was parked. The wheel cylinders, and master cylinder had failed from 22 years of sitting. But all other components were like new. The fuel tank has been removed and cleaned. It was rust free, and contained less than one gallon of gasoline. The car now has brakes, a working fuel system, and can be driven. Jim will do some road testing and further evaluation before making the final restoration plans. At this point in time, Jim is locating and purchasing spare parts. Investigating availability of reproduction and NOS parts, prices, and weighing his restoration options. click photo to enlarge |
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January 23rd 2006. The right front floor had a small
amount of rust at the very front. This appeared to be caused by water
dripping from the A/C evaporator. This is common as the evaporator can
drip from condensation on hot humid days. Jim decided to replace the entire
right foot well area for the cleanest repair. The replacement floor repair
panel was very well made. Jim was impressed with the factory original
look, alignment, and overall quality of this item. .023 wire was used
in the mig welder. Installation time was about three hours. The top front
patch was fabricated by Jim from flat sheet steel. |
There was a small area in the left floor that was
almost ready to break through. Jim removed this and fabricated a repair
patch. A small additional patch was needed where some rust had developed
around the spot weld for the speedometer cable hanger that is under the
floor at this location. |
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January 23rd 2006. After a thorough cleaning and surface
preparation, the floor is treated with a special rust inhibiting paint
from the Wurth company. The four floor pan drain caps were removed, cleaned
and replaced with new seam sealant. All of the old cracked and brittle
sealant was removed from the interior floor area body seams. Jim resealed
this area with 3M black urethane superfast. This gives the appearance
of the original sealant, lasts forever, stays flexible, and adheres to
anything. In areas of the body that are hidden by carpet and upholstery,
Jim prefers this material to the common limestone based body caulking
compounds. |
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